Nickolas Wilkerson of San Diego joined other volunteers stuffing mailers for Haiti support. Many San Diego churches and nonprofit organizations have been raising money and collecting supplies. — John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune

Nickolas Wilkerson of San Diego joined other volunteers stuffing mailers for Haiti support. Many San Diego churches and nonprofit organizations have been raising money and collecting supplies.
— John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune

San Diegans are continuing to mobilize in the wake of the devastation gripping Haiti, with many local groups organizing donation drives throughout the county while relief volunteers prepare for trips to the Caribbean nation.

A special prayer service dedicated to the earthquake victims is planned for 5 p.m. tomorrow at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, at 2728 Sixth Ave., in Park West. Attendees will also be given opportunities to take part in the relief effort or donate to Episcopal Relief and Development, an aid agency that has been working in Haiti for several years.

“We’ve noticed over the years when national tragedies occur or there’s a call to action, people who don’t regularly attend church feel the call to be in a prayerful space,” said Chris Harris, the church’s canon for congregational development. “It’s a big piece of how we make sense of all this.”

Yesterday, volunteers at Rescue Task Force, a nonprofit organization based in Carlsbad, began packing supplies for their trip to the earthquake zone — a trek that is expected to last two weeks but could last as long as a month, said Andrea Stone, the group’s executive officer.

The volunteers will join forces with International Faith Missions, which has set up a mobile medical clinic along the Haitian border with the Dominican Republic. It will then move on to other parts of the island with plans to provide basic medical supplies, such as Tylenol, anti-diarrhea medication and other first-aid needs.

“With lack of basic first aid, a survivor with a basic injury can die,” Stone said.

The group also plans to provide resources for Good Samaritan School, a Haitian facility with 150 children. The school is now feeding about 2,000 people, she said.

Darryl Hall, a veteran volunteer with the nonprofit, will be leading the team’s efforts in Haiti.

“We want to make good use of time,” he said. “When you see imminent danger, it’s not who you’re going to help, but who you’re not going to help, because there are so many people in need.”

Hall is leaving behind his wife and three small children, who have been supportive.

“My kids are intrigued, to say the least,” Hall said. “I think they look at me as a bit of a superhero. I hope the values they learn from what their dad does will get them through life, and that’s important.”

A team of three physicians from UCSD Medical Center, as well as two physicians from La Jolla and Imperial County, are expected to leave for the disaster zone tonight. The five medical workers are part of San Diego-based International Relief Teams.

Plant With Purpose, a local nonprofit that works in 67 villages in Haiti, will be deciding in the next few days when to send employees to Haiti to begin organizing the long-term recovery.

“The urge to get on a plane and go is almost overwhelming, but this is the week for disaster assistance professionals,” said the group’s executive director, Scott Sabin. “Our job will start in a week or two and will not end.”